A comedy of goalkeeping errors, including two howlers from Wolfsburg keeper Almuth Schult, saw Germany labor to a 2-2 draw with Japan on Tuesday in their penultimate friendly before the women's World Cup.

Coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg used the fixture in Paderborn to test out younger players, giving a first start to 17-year-old midfielder Sophie Oberdorf.

Germany, ranked second in the world, were the better side for much of the first half, but they went behind on 35 minutes after a moment of madness from goalkeeper Schult.

Having had nothing to do for the first half an hour, Schult misplaced a simple pass to a defender, allowing Yui Hasegawa to lob the ball over her.

The International Olympic Committee says boxing is set to maintain its place in the 2020 Tokyo Games, but that the sport's international association should be excluded from organizing the events due to a number of problems.
(NHK)

A report released by a global union federation has demanded better conditions for laborers working on the construction of Tokyo Games facilities after several "alarming" alleged labor violations were uncovered.
(Japan Today)

In November 2018, Kawasaki were crowned champions of the J-League for the second season running despite losing 2-1 to Cerezo Osaka. Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s last-gasp home defeat to Vegalta Sendai was enough to seal the title for Kawasaki with two games to spare. (newsonjapan.com)

The online ticketing site for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo opened on Thursday, only to be overloaded by a stampede of visitors, with many customers unable to access the lottery application for long stretches of time. (Nikkei)

Yokozuna Hakuho, who was diagnosed with a torn biceps tendon after winning his 42nd title in March, has withdrawn from the upcoming Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, his stablemaster Miyagino said Thursday.
(Japan Times)

The CEO of Rugby Australia on Monday warned organizers of this year’s World Cup to be prepared to deal with spectators that can be more a little more exuberant than the typical Japanese fan. (Japan Times)

Takakeisho's name was officially placed among the sumo elite on Tuesday when the rankings for next month's Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, the first of the Reiwa era, were released by the Japan Sumo Association. (Japan Today)